What is goal setting?

Goal setting involves planning for a transformation of your current state. During the goal setting process you identify your current state and define a new state that you want to reach in the future. The big goal setting challenge is then to devise an efficient plan to move you from the current state to the desired state.

Current State

Desired State

I weigh 200 lb

I weigh 180 lb

I don't have a degree

I have a college degree

I have a boring job

I am self-employed

My business sales are lower than
$10k / month

My business sales are greater than
$ 1 million / month

Actions

What are actions?

An "action" (or "task") is the atomic unit of a goal setting plan. It is the smallest sub-goal that can be directly translated to a human (or machine) action. An action is a muscle contracting, an engine turning, or a neuron firing to propel you from one state of being to the next. Actions can be as simple as taking mail to the post office or as ambitious as writing the next chapter of your novel. One thing is certain: without actions, you wouldn't be able to reach your goals.

What are subgoals?

A list of actions (or tasklist) should be all you need to move forward and accomplish your goals. However, an action list can be extremely long and complex, and that's why you need to set sub-goals.

During the goal setting process, you break goals into smaller sub-goals, and then sub-goals into even smaller sub-sub-goals. Continue this goal breakdown process until your sub-goals are so small and simple that they can be executed as a task. Goal setting can be intimidating; sub-goals help you conquer fear and achieve big challenging goals.

Why should I use a software tool to set goals?
I can just write my goals on a piece of paper.

Yes, you can, but think about this: if you have a 30-page term essay to write for school, would you just write it on a piece of paper, or would you rather use word processing software like Word or Pages? The main reason why most people go for word processing applications is because of speed and flexibility. You may be able to write faster in your own handwriting, but when it comes to re-organizing text or removing and adding paragraphs, you can't beat the convenience of a software tool.

Setting your top five goals for the next year seems very simple, and you can easily list them on a single piece of paper. But describing the whole goal setting plan, including hundreds of sub-goals and tasks, is a much more complex process that is easiest to tackle with a software tool. On top of that, a goal setting software can generate automatic goal tracking graphs and reports to help you visualize your progress. Seeing how far you've come might be just the inspiration you need to keep moving when the going gets tough.

What is Goalenforcer?

GoalEnforcer is a visual goal setting software tool that can help you with the goal setting and goal tracking process. GoalEnforcer uses an innovative graphical mapping process to help you define your goals, sub-goals and tasks.

Why visual?

We are all familiar with calendars; we see them everywhere. But did you ever stop to think about how a calendar is a visual representation of days and months? We could simply write days in a sequence, using rows of notebook paper, but isn't a calendar grid much more exciting and easier to read? Why not do the same for your goals?

Simply representing your goals as visual objects, such as circles that can be dragged around, actually gives your brain extra processing power. Representing a problem with visual objects can make it easier to solve. Why? The explanation is simple: looking at these objects activates more neural circuits in your brain!